Finding Yourself in Another
by MerlynGirlReincarnate-17
Summary: It is a story that takes place 500 years after Sin's defeat in FFX.
1. Disclaimer

Title;  
  
Finding Yourself in Another  
  
Author;  
  
MerlynGirlReincarnate17  
  
Disclaimer;  
  
Square Electronic Arts L.L.C. –6060 Center Dr. Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90045  
  
© 2001, 2002 Square Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.  
  
FINAL FANTASY and the SQUARESOFT logo are registered trademarks of Square Co., Ltd.  
  
"PlayStation" and the "PS" Family logo are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.  
  
© 2003 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.  
  
FINAL FANTASY is a registered trademark of Square Enix Co., Ltd.  
  
SQUARE ENIX and the Square Enix logo are trademarks of Square Enix Co., Ltd.  
  
Summary of all that: I don't own it. I only own my storyline and my own personal characters.  
  
Synopsis;  
  
A young girl's city was destroyed a little over 17 years ago. Since then she has grown up as a Dragon Rider of the Calm Lands of Spira. The best in her field of skill, everyone turns to her for protection and guidance if things get too out of hand. Now, it's her life that is out of hand and she is on a journey to discover who or what she is. Trouble abounds and things aren't always what they seem.  
  
Author's Note;  
  
This is actually my first work that I've planned out (In lame-men's terms, the first one I've had an idea for that spans the whole story) so if you're going to flame me, do it constructively. If you like it, let me know. It's.........not really a love story like someone mentioned the title suggests, but I could work one in if enough people want me to. This takes place several hundred years after Sin's defeat, so I'll try not to confuse you too much. If I get something seriously wrong, let me know and I'll be happy to fix it. All fiends in this story are taken from the Fiends and Enemies section in the Brady Games Signature Series Final Fantasy X-2 Official Strategy Guide. 


	2. Prelude

Prelude;  
  
"No! No! No!" A middle-aged Guado shouted angrily as he watched a young girl on the back of a crimson dragon soar through the air. "Firailc, you must concentrate. Plan your attacks. You are too rash."  
  
"Rash? Rash! I'll give you rash you little freak!" Firailc raged as the wind whipped her blood red bangs around her scotch-gold eyes; mixing occasionally with the short, raven dark spikiness that was the rest of her hair. She leaned in close along her mount's neck ridge and urged him faster, hurtling at breakneck speed toward the Guado below. He shrieked and took off as fast as he could toward a tower a few hundred yards away.  
  
"Firailc! NO! HELP!" He screamed as the dragon's claw misses him by a scant inch. He hit the dirt, tumbling down a small incline, and jumped back to his feet.  
  
"HOLD STILL! I'M TRYING TO KILL YOU!" Firailc shouted as she turned her dragon in for another dive. The dragon hit the ground just above the man, pining him by his cloak with one razor sharp talon.  
  
"HELP!" The man squealed, wriggling to get free.  
  
"I won." Firailc said smugly as she jumped to the ground a few feet from his shoulder.  
  
"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" He continued to shout. Three Guado guards raced forward and surrounded her.  
  
"RELEASE HIM!" One shouted as he poked a rifle at her.  
  
"Hey! Hey! Back off!" Firailc said as she waved them away. "It's just a joke." She snapped her fingers and her mount took flight, heading for the stables on the other side of the field.  
  
"My dear, you should not take what Trime says to heart." An elder Guado said as he came out of a three-story building nearby.  
  
"Lord Vrin!" The Guado said as they all bowed deeply to their leader.  
  
"Rever." Firailc said, grinning at him.  
  
"Trime is only trying to improve your skills." Lord Vrin said as he smiled in return. Trime, the middle-aged Guado, glared at Firailc as he brushed at his clothes to rid himself of some dirt and grass.  
  
"Yeah, only trying to get me kicked out by giving a bad report. When's supper?" Firailc asked as she walked off with the Guado leader toward the building he just came from.  
  
"In an hour. I don't suppose you'd care to help me take care of official matters until then?" Lord Vrin offered. The entire building looked much like a Gothic church.  
  
"Why not?" She replied shrugging and they entered the Lord's office in the very back of the building.  
  
"I take it you finished all your video games?" He laughed as he took a seat behind his desk.  
  
"Yep. Speaking of which, I want that game Drakenguard they've got out." She commented, settling on the edge of his desk and picking up half a stack of legal documents.  
  
"I'll send Trime to get it first thing in the morning." He said, an amused glint entering his eye as he watched the human girl sort through the papers. Her outfit was somewhat odd for a dragon rider, but she refused to change. Her black leather trousers disappeared into the tops of calf-length boots, real loose at the top but form fitting at the bottom with wide, flat heels of about a quarter inch. She had a spiked belt tight enough to cut off circulation around her left knee, just above the joint, and three belts rested around her waist. One was actually through the loops on her pants, but the other two angled sharply in opposite directions so that they formed 'X's on both her extreme lower stomach, a couple inches above the juncture of her long legs, and across her butt. On the first belt, on her left side, rested an empty scabbard she refused to get rid of. Her sleeve-less shirt was made of the same material as her pants and hugged every curve, but had an oval slit just over the valley between her breasts.  
  
"Oh, here. You'll have to answer this inquiry. They want to know what to do about the Lupus attacking Bevelle at every turn." She said as she handed him an envelope. Chuckling, they set to work and finished all the papers in just a little over a half hour.  
  
"Sir?" A young Guado appeared in the doorway to see them laughing at some joke Firailc has just told.  
  
"Ah, Trevin. Come in. Is something the matter?" Lord Vrin asked as he composed himself and beckoned the boy in.  
  
"Sir, Lord Raptor Ronso wishes for Lady Sfitavi's presence." Trevin said timidly, giving Firailc a shy smile.  
  
"Tell the Lord I'll be there as soon as my stuff is acquired." Firailc said, winking at Trevin as she hopped off the desk and strided out. Lord Vrin dismissed the young boy and shook his head, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach.  
  
"Hey Firailc!" A young girl called as she raced to catch up. She too was Guado.  
  
"Hey Leyad. Sorry, but my presence has once again been requested." Firailc chuckled at her friend's crestfallen face.  
  
"But we were supposed to go do some shopping today!" Leyad whined in distress.  
  
"I tell you what, when I get back we'll shop straight through for a week. I promise." Firailc offered. Hesitating, Leyad finally took a deep breath and nodded. Most of Firailc's missions took weeks, sometimes even months to complete.  
  
"All right, but no skipping off!" Leyad warned.  
  
"On my honor as a Rider of the Calm Lands of Spira." Firailc said firmly as she placed her right hand in a closed fist over her heart. They shared a giggle and then Leyad helped Firailc pack her stuff. The quicker she left and finished her job the quicker she could get back.  
  
"All set? Got everything packed?" Trevin asked nervously as he paced by the front door. Firailc bid farewell to her friend and walked up.  
  
"Yep. All ready to go. Is Ripper saddled and waiting for me?" Firailc asked as she followed him out into the middle of the Calm Lands. There were no fiends in this area anymore due to the heavy dragon rider training and practicing activity so the walk was in silence with only the sound of the winds as company.  
  
"Hey, are you going to answer me? Where's my dragon? Why isn't he saddled and waiting?" Firailc asked in confusion as Trevin turned back to her.  
  
"I'm truly sorry my lady. Lord Sever forbade me to disobey him." Trevin said apologetically. Looking at him in confusion she abruptly sensed something behind her and spun just in time to see a huge Anything Eater bearing down upon her. She immediately dropped her pack and entered a fighting stance, bringing her knuckles up sharply.  
  
"What do you think you're doing? Why does Lord Sever want me dead?" She demanded as she dodged the fiend's attack and did one of her own for around 6000 points of damage, bringing its HP down to less than half.  
  
"Not dead, just with him." Trevin said from directly behind her. She didn't have time to spin around again when she felt his hand close over her mouth with a cloth in it. Her senses went fuzzy and then faded. The last thought through her mind was Not dead, just with him? What?   
  
"Oh, ugh. I'm going to throw." She murmured hoarsely as consciousness crept upon her once more. Wherever she was, it's cold and reminded her of a dungeon with its stone walls, dampness, and musty smell. In one corner was a small pallet of a three-inch thick mattress, a comforter, and a pillow. Groaning at the tightness in her head as nausea threatened close to the surface, she dragged herself to the mattress and rested for a few minutes before attempting to move again. In the space of time between, she fell asleep.  
  
"Get up!" These words were punctuated with a sharp kick to her leg and she sat upright, instantly regretting the quick movement as her stomach threatened to make her revisit a rather liquid breakfast.  
  
"Lord Sever says you are to come with us." One of the guards barked as she turned to face them. She slowly, carefully, rose to her feet and followed them silently, taking in her surroundings. Everyone here seemed to be perfectly human, except for those in the cells around her. They moved up a flight of stairs into the bright sunlight and she had to squint her eyes for a few moments to get used to the bright sun. They were obviously in a desert and if her memory was correct, it was smack dap in the middle of the Sanubia Desert to be exact. They led her to a building a few hundred yards off and then down another flight of stairs to a cramped office with only one desk and a lot of machina lining the walls.  
  
"Someone said you called?" Firailc asked sarcastically.  
  
"Ah, Lady Firailc Sfitavi. It is my pleasure, and the pleasure of Al- Bhed everywhere, to welcome you to Bikanel Island Home." The dark haired Al- Bhed leader declared cheerfully as he turned in his chair to face her. Bronze met emerald and a clash ensued. In an instant Firailc was lunging across the desk in an attempt to pummel him when three guards appeared and dragged her back down, wrenching her arms behind her and forcing her to her knees.  
  
"You're the one!" She cried angrily. "You're the one who killed them!"  
  
"I assure you my dear, it was not as you may have been told to think." Lord Sever replied as he got calmly to his feet and walked around. Bending at the waist, he cupped her chin in his hand and stared her in the eyes. "You're the one who killed them."  
  
The simple way he said it, with no whimsy or arrogance or dark tone, rocked her to the core and she froze in surprise and shock.  
  
"W-what?" She asked helplessly, her eyes wide.  
  
"You, my dear, are not what anyone thinks and I am here to find out just what you are. I was there when your village was destroyed. You and I are two of the few who made it out and still live, that is why you remember me." He said as he straightened and picked up a memory sphere from a drawer in his desk. He dismissed the guards and sat the sphere before her, stepping away. Hesitantly, she reached out a trembling hand and pressed the small button closest to her. Instantly she was submersed in memory.

................................................................................................................................................

A/N I know, a bit of a cliffhanger. I hate them myself, but it seemed as good a place as any to break off for now. Review please. Hey, I did say please!


	3. Chapter 1

---------------- =(Denotes a memory or some such thing (dreams, memory sphere projections, etcetera)  
  
Chapter 1: History To Be Explored And A New Companion  
  
----------------  
  
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!" People ran in every direction as explosions and fire filled the air. Half a building crumbled, crushing people beneath its stone weight. A young woman, maybe in her mid-twenties at most, ran desperately through the street, a newborn child in her arms.  
  
"Cace! Cace!" She called frantically. A young man, similarly aged, appeared ahead and turned toward them, fighting his way through the crowd.  
  
"Illia!" He called, striving to reach them through the chaos. A small eternity later they finally clasped each other in a passionate embrace, mindful of the child between them.  
  
"What's going on? Who's attacking us?" Illia asked in a panic as she clutched the baby girl tighter, wrapping the shawl just a little more closely about the infant's form.  
  
"The historians think it is Sin. Just go now!" Cace (Case) responded, kissing her deeply and then turning to run off.  
  
"Wait! Where are you going?" Illia asked as she caught onto his shirt.  
  
"To gather my men. There may be a way to defeat this." Cace responded determinedly. "We'll definitely beat this thing. Whatever it is, I'm not going to just stand by and watch it destroy my town!" He nodded sharply and turned intense eyes upon his wife and child.  
  
"Take her and run. I'll meet up with you in the Calm Lands." He said firmly.  
  
"The Calm Lands!? Oh gods, no!" Illia cried frightenedly.  
  
"Just go. I'm too spiteful to die now. Go!" Cace demanded and pushed her into the crowd.  
  
"CACE!" She screamed as he disappeared, giving a last farewell wave before running off. Illia and the child were swept along in the mob, helpless to go but anywhere they were taken.  
  
"Illia! Illia!" She turned toward the sound of her name and spotted her brother standing on top of something a good distance off to the side.  
  
"Drine! Drine!" She called, raising one hand to wave frantically. He saw her and pushed his way through.  
  
"Are you and Firailc all right? Where's Cace?" Drine asked firmly as he pulled them to a semi-protected alley off to the side where they could hear each other better.  
  
"He left to get his men. Drine, he said to meet in the Calm Lands." Illia said, disheartened.  
  
"I'll find him. Just meet there. Your husband's so stubborn, not even having a shoopuf sit on him would damage that thick skull." Drine joked half-heartedly and patted her on the shoulder before moving back into the crowd after Cace. Illia took a deep breath to prepare her self and launched into the crowd, running as fast as she could toward the city limits where an airship waited for the escapees. A young man with dark brown, almost black hair and deep green eyes abruptly appeared out of the crowd and collided with them, all hitting the ground hard. Baby Firailc cried out in a mixture of anger and pain and surprise as she hit the paved road roughly.  
  
"Watch out!" The stranger hollered as a Divebeak suddenly prepared to swoop in. He grabbed Illia and shoved her down, cradling the baby under him. The fiend arched back sharply to avoid a hit and began to circle as a Coeurl appeared, heading straight for them. It bit into Illia's shoulder and pried her away, breaking her neck on a nearby wall as it tossed her aside. She died with a muted scream. As the Coeurl moved back in to attack the man, he jumped to his feet and ran with Firailc in his arms, both fiends giving chase. A Cactuar appeared ahead and jammed spikes into his leg, tripping him. He hit the ground on his back with a harsh grunt and struggled to rise again, but the Coeurl's paw on his chest prevented it. Delicately, it took the baby from his arms and raised its head, so that the Divebeak carried her off. Lashing out with both feet, the man freed him self and ran, half limping, after the bird fiend. Catching up to it nearly a block later he snatched up a rock and threw it, scoring a deep wound on its wing. The baby fell and before he could catch her a Heavy Sallet appeared, launched seemingly from nowhere, and cradleed her in its massive arms, as delicate as a mother.  
  
"Leave her alone!" The man hollered and attacked savagely with his fists, tearing the baby away and running as fast as he could down a convenient alley way. Every so often, just when he was about to turn one direction, fiends appeared and herded him down a particular path. After a while he realized they are directing him toward the massive thing attacking the city, but he could do nothing about it. Most of the fiends blocking his path were Kukulcan and Rukh. He eventually reached a dock and stared, in utter amazement and terror, at the massive creature/thing/freak floating above. The ground around him began to shake and rise as it tried to draw them in.  
  
"No!" He screamed, backing away and clutching the baby tighter. "Why do you want her? Why her? What are you?" He raged at it as he continued to back away.  
  
"I am Sin." The words echoed loudly in his mind, causing him to fall to his knees in pain as he jammed his eyes shut.  
  
"What do you want with her?" He screamed again, daring to look back up.  
  
"She is mine." Again agony lanced his body and he struggled to remain upright.  
  
"NO! She is her parents'." He responded weakly and stumbled to his feet, turning to half run half stagger away.  
  
"She is MINE!" Anger filled the tone and he fell to the ground screaming.  
  
"N-no." He gasped out, continuing away from the monstrosity.  
  
"I will find her. She can not hide." A dark hiss, filled with evil threat. He stumbled farther. After what seemed like an eternity he gat away from the docks, the words still echoing in his mind, and made it to the waiting airship just as it took off. Clutching onto the railing, a few of the passengers hauled him aboard with the baby still clasped in his arms.  
  
"She is mine! She doesn't belong with you. She is more than human. She is mine!"  
  
"N-no. N-not yours. Parents'." He choked out and collapsed on the deck just as the last of the city was destroyed by a huge shockwave.  
  
----------------  
  
"NO!" Firailc screamed as she wrenched free of the memory and scrambled toward the wall behind her. "That's how you saw it! Your memories are tainted. That didn't happen!" She cried desperately.  
  
"My memories?" Sever asked calmly. "Look at which button you pressed, my lady." The sphere button closest to her was record, not play.  
  
"No. It's a trick. No." Firailc cried, wrapping her arms around her raised knees and rocking back and forth silently, wild eyes still staring at the blue sphere in front of her.  
  
"Lady Sfitavi, I am merely here to help you understand this." Sever said gently as he placed the sphere on his desk, out of sight and out of mind so to speak.  
  
"No. I don't want to understand this. I just wanna' go home. Why can't I just go home and forget all this?" She pleaded, turning wide eyes on him. He shook his head solemnly and met her squarely in the eye.  
  
"You may be the one who can make Spira pure. Don't you want that?" He asked softly. "Don't you want to know why so many innocent people were attacked and killed by something that supposedly hadn't existed for 500 years? Don't you want to know why it killed your parents, but not you?"  
  
"I'm scared. This can't be happening." She denied emphatically, shaking her head to stress her point. "I'm dreaming. That's all it is, I'm dreaming."  
  
"Are you? Are you really? Do you not remember the Fayths' dream of Zanarkand and its inhabitants?" He asked. "What if we are all the same? What if we are a dream? Wouldn't you like to know what the real world is like? To see and taste and feel it with your own senses?"  
  
Firailc looked up at him curiously, the words sparking something deep in her soul.  
  
"What are you saying?" She asked timidly.  
  
"Ah, I see the light in your eyes. Daring, curiosity, determination, it is all there. You are intrigued now." He commented, smiling at her softly. "I'm suggesting that you go on a journey. I suggest you find out what is real and what is not. You and I both know there is some higher power at work, there always has been."  
  
"You want me to find out what happened, come back and tell you, then we both go find the truth?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow as she slowly uncurled her legs and got to her feet. She only standing a total of 5 feet 4 inches, the man towered over her a full 12 inches at 6 foot 4. She looked up into his eyes and found a gleam she couldn't decipher. Maybe later she would be able to, but not today.  
  
"Precisely. Think of it, we two could know the truth and enlighten all of Spira. It would be the greatest gift, eternal peace and maybe even a way to permanently rid the world of fiends once and for all. Would you risk it, though? It will be a dangerous journey and you must know that you can tell no one of your mission." Sever said calmly.  
  
"That's the way all my missions are. There is always an element of secrecy no matter what I am sent to do. I have a few questions and requests, though." Firailc said firmly.  
  
"At your service." Sever said, inclining his head to encourage her.  
  
"One, why did you say Lord Raptor wished to see me if you were just going to kidnap me? Two, I am going to need my dragon, Ripper, his tack, and my supplies. Three, I also need better sleeping quarters if I am to start this journey fresh." She said.  
  
"To answer your question, it was to throw everyone off your trail so that I could talk to you without fear of being interrupted. You and I both know Lord Vrin has never trusted me. Two, Ripper and your tack are both here in my personal stables awaiting your convenience. For the final comment, I am sorry for your rude welcoming, but I had to be sure you weren't going to run away before I had a chance to talk with you. Your quarters are located three rooms to the left upon exiting this one and you will find your supplies there waiting for you." He said politely. As she turned to leave he added one more thing.  
  
"I shall have one of my men accompany you, to ensure your safety on the quest."  
  
Firailc nodded once and walked out, heading for her new rooms. Waiting on the queen-sized bed were her personal traveling bags that Leyad helped her pack as well as a gorgeous red dress, sheath style, with a curve hugging top and a slit up the side as far up as her hip. A pair of high heels, matching the dress, rested at the foot of the bed. Lying on top of it was a note.  
  
Please meet me for dinner. Accept this as a token of apology for your harsh treatment.  
Sever Keltik  
  
"Yeah, right." She mumbled, but set the note back down heading for the nearby bathroom. Once she had taken a shower and freshened up, she stood by the bed in nothing but a towel contemplating whether she should accept the invitation and whether she should actually wear the dress.  
  
"My lady." There was a knock at the door and a young man addressed her from the other side of it. "Lord Sever sent me to ask if you would be joining him."  
  
"Tell him I'll be down shortly. I have to dress." She replied and listened to his receding footsteps. Sighing, she turned back to the bed and dropped the towel, beginning to dress.  
  
"You look absolutely awe-inspiring." Sever said as he rose from his chair to greet her. She continued down the high staircase and accepted his offered hand politely somewhat self-conscious now that other people were seeing her in the dress as well.  
  
"I much prefer my own clothes." She commented calmly enough and took her seat, waiting patiently for him to introduce the man across from her. He was not quite six feet with short, close cropped black hair and dark blue eyes. The pupils were not swirled so he wes obviously not an Al-Bhed like Sever or the others, but he seemed not to care. He wore a heavy black leather breastplate with silver designs similar to that of a tortoise shell and tight fitting blue jeans. He had a scabbard resting across his broad shoulders containing a bronze handled sword and his fists were covered with cut-off black leather gloves.  
  
"Lady Sfitavi, this is Bolt Lancer. He is the one I mentioned would accompany you on your journey. He is a very capable fighter and someone I would trust with my life." Sever said calmly. "Bolt, this is Lady Firailc Sfitavi, the one I want you to protect. From the stories I've heard of her she too is a capable fighter so your job should not be too difficult."  
  
"My lady." Bolt said solemnly as he reached across the table for her hand.  
  
"If we are to be companions, just Firailc shall do." Firailc responded as she shook his hand firmly.  
  
"Very well." Bolt said and nodded in agreement. "You may call me Bolt."

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A/N Well? What does anyone think? Drag your little cursor to the bar and click it. Reviews are an aspiring writer's friends, you know. 


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